Drawings for permit

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mooreaaryan

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Location
Bakersfield CA
Occupation
Electrician
I am building a new to service to a home and reworking some equipment inside the garage (charging station,MTS and batteries). The city website says I need print. Does anyone have knowledge of an app or sketching program to draw some up. I am not an engineer and a solo operation

Anything helps thanks
 
I am no computer expert but I am told there are two kinds of drawing programs vector and pixel, paint programs are pixel and for electrical computer aided design (CAD) its is preferred to learn a vector program. Programs like 'auto cad' (pro engineer, autodesk/Revit ) are now overpriced at about $2000/year and up (I dont really know what the bosses pay but its a rip off) but there are cheaper alternatives , some even free. But its worth the learning curve to learn 'CAD' vs something like mspaint.
My favorite cheap poor mans 2D cad is qcad https://qcad.org/en/ and https://librecad.org/
I have desigened tons of permitted plan reviewed stuff at home in those programs and shared the files with architects/engineers that use the more expensive programs with no issues.
They do the basics 75% of pretty much everything I need to do, but the learning curve is steep.
 
I don’t need computer drafting for my work but I *really* enjoy it so I find ways to use it. After the learning curve it can really be a useful tool. Typically where I work a foreman will mark up an as-build by hand on the official print and turn it in for the builder. If I can get my hands on an electronic file I do my as-builts on the computer and use it for myself. It looks better than my chicken scratch. I have used real AutoCad when my employer had a subscription. It’s way more power than I need. Currently I am using ViaCad 12 2D. Does almost everything I want just as well as AutoCad for $30 a year. Can import and export with other drafting programs.


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If I had to pick, I think ViaCAD would be a good choice. My link to punch!CAD (the developer) suggests it's a one-time fee, not a subscription at $69.99.

www.punchcad.com

Punch! ViaCAD 2D v12

ViaCAD 2D is an affordable and easy to use CAD software for creating computer drawings, floor plans, landscape designs, diagrams, and production ready schematics.
www.punchcad.com www.punchcad.com
 
tortuga said:
I am no computer expert but I am told there are two kinds of drawing programs vector and pixel, paint programs are pixel and for electrical computer aided design (CAD) its is preferred to learn a vector program. Programs like 'auto cad' (pro engineer, autodesk/Revit ) are now overpriced at about $2000/year and up (I dont really know what the bosses pay but its a rip off) but there are cheaper alternatives , some even free. But its worth the learning curve to learn 'CAD' vs something like mspaint.
My favorite cheap poor mans 2D cad is qcad https://qcad.org/en/ and https://librecad.org/
I have desigened tons of permitted plan reviewed stuff at home in those programs and shared the files with architects/engineers that use the more expensive programs with no issues.
They do the basics 75% of pretty much everything I need to do, but the learning curve is steep.
Click to expand...
I use QCAD for all my drawings. It's a little rough around the edges, but anyone who can use a CAD program can learn QCAD in a weekend or so.
 
I personally use Autodesk Fusion 360 for parametric CAD. it's free for starters.

Another alternative may be Onshape , which is free and works directly in the browser. It's quite similar to Fusion, and parametric.

Both programs can import/export STL-files, so no problem for print.

In addition, There are many more programs that I have not tried here: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-6119.html , Hope it helps.
 
In California if I install a package unit on a roof, the AHJ requires an engineer's stamp. So, they come out take measurements and submit their drawings. No need for me to draw anything up.
 
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